


Safe and Sound

by wonderlandiscrumbling



Category: Gallowglass (TV 1993), Takin' Over the Asylum
Genre: Comfort, First Kiss, Kissing, M/M, Mental Illness, Mentions of past abuse, Slight Mention of Blood, Trauma, friends who are kind of more than friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:27:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23266198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonderlandiscrumbling/pseuds/wonderlandiscrumbling
Summary: Campbell doesn't know a lot about Joe other than the things they have in common with each other, the bands they both like, and that it wasn't long into their friendship before Joe asked him if he'd like to share a home with him. He finds out new things about his friend's past every day though.
Relationships: Campbell Bain/Joe (Gallowglass)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 32





	Safe and Sound

Campbell hadn’t known all that much about Joe or his past when he’d initially met him. He only knew what his friend offered him, which was very little, and that was fine with him. He knew like himself that Joe had been in and out of facilities for breakdowns and at least once for self-harm. He’d heard that he’d gotten mixed up with a bad person before he’d ended up under care again, let out a few months later once he was back on his medications and deemed able to care for himself. He mostly learned over time as they moved in together, not a thing that Campbell would have suggested, but Joe had told him how much he hated being alone. He’d been happy to move in with his friend, to keep him the company he seemed to desperately be in need of, he claimed that it kept his mind from going to dark places if there was somebody else around, and he’d never actually lived on his own before.

From there he began picking up on little things. He learned one day when he’d dropped a glass, it shattering against the floor that Joe didn’t like loud sudden sounds. He’d jumped at the sound falling out of the wooden kitchen chair he’d been seated in a moment before, scrambling to his feet, eyes wide with fear at the sound. Campbell had apologized for dropping it, offered to pay for it when he finally got his first two weeks pay, but before he could get the sentence completed Joe was on the ground gathering up pieces of glass, hissing in pain as he cut his finger on a shard. 

Campbell knelt before him gingerly placing a hand against his shoulder trying to get him to stop as he went to pick up more pieces of glass, blood dripping to the floor. “It’s okay, don’t worry ‘bout that.” 

“Are you sure, I should, I should get this.”

“No don’t worry ‘bout that, let me see your hand.” He kept his voice low and gentle, his touch just as gentle as he took hold of his hand looking at the little cuts in his skin, blood smearing across the palm of his hand. He could feel his eyes on him, watching him like he was waiting for something bad to happen. “C’mon let’s get you cleaned up.” 

Joe was hesitant to get up from the floor and follow him back to the bathroom. His head hung; eyes focused on the floor as if he was just waiting to be yelled at for something. Campbell couldn’t understand why he thought he was going to yell at him, he’d learned not long before this that he also didn’t like loud voices. It was a bit of a struggle for him to keep his voice at an even or even low tone, he naturally had always been loud and energetic, but he’d really hated the way that Joe flinched seeming uneasy the first time he’d heard Campbell raise his voice. 

“Does it hurt?” He asked as he rummaged through the medicine cabinet looking for bandages and disinfectant.

Joe sat on the edge of the bathtub examining his hand, a blank look on his face as he watched the blood staining pale skin. “No, not really, used to it really.” He muttered mostly to himself. He flinched the slightest bit when Campbell took hold of his hand again. “Sorry, I was remembering something.”

“It’s okay, don’t have to apologize for that. I’m just worried is all.” He assured him as he carefully ran a wet cloth along his hand wiping the blood away.

“Why are you worried about me?” Joe asked laughing lightly.

“You’re my friend,”

It felt obvious enough to worry about him because of that alone, he didn’t want to see him upset or in pain. He often thought about asking him about the long scar on the back of his hand or the one above his lip, but then he’d think better of it when he’d see Joe caressing the scar on his hand as if it was something he cherished. There was something unsettling in that, even if he couldn’t explain to himself why it bothered him so much. 

“I think I’m still just adjusting to things y’know, it’s been awhile, I mean like not that long. I was living with Tilly and then she just sort of disappeared, told you about her, didn’t I? She was sort of like a sister, not really though, I think she got sick of me.”

Campbell finished cleaning and bandaging up his hand, “you told me a bit about her. It’s still shit that she just disappeared on you like that, leaving you with nothing.” 

Joe smiled, “guess so, think she was mad at me, she always would get mad at me about things.” He looked down at his bandaged hand nervously running his fingers along the gauze. “She was really sex obsessed, like it’s fine, I mean sex, it’s fine, but….I didn’t like it that much or at least with her, I think that pissed her off a bit. She always said I’m just a brat.” 

Campbell let him talk, these were things he’d already known a little bit about. He knew that Joe went through foster care, going from home to home. He’d been kicked out of one home because he’d hit thirteen and they just hadn’t wanted a teenager, another kicked him out after catching him kissing another boy, and then the others got rid of him after finding out he wasn’t mentally stable. None of them exactly had the means or patience to deal with somebody manic. Campbell understood that, his own parents hadn’t wanted to deal with him, they’d just thought he did this on purpose to vex them. Some days he missed them, thought about calling them on the holidays, but then thought better of that.

“I don’t think you’re a brat and so what if you aren’t all that into sex, nothing wrong with that.” 

Joe smiled up at him, “not weird then?”

“No more than me or anybody else, I still like you.” He said taking hold of his hand, he stroked his thumb against the scar that ran along his skin. “How’d you get this one?” He asked softly.

“Well um, this guy, I made him mad. I’d been bothering him, and he cut me, completely my fault really.” 

“Was he a friend of yours or something?”

“He was, more than that I think, I think he loved me, but he didn’t know how to. He’d been through a lot you know; I know he didn’t really mean to hurt me. Sounds a bit dumb, I know, therapist told me to stop blaming myself for it. I still do it though, I think about him, he could be okay sometimes, a lot of the time.” 

He was rambling again, nervous as he watched Campbell touch the scar on his hand. He felt bad for asking him about it, but he seemed okay with talking about it. He did have the urge to tell him that it wasn’t okay for somebody to cut him like that, especially if it was somebody that he was supposedly close to.

“I wouldn’t do that; I don’t hurt my friends like that.” He told him; he pressed a kiss against the scar. Worried for a split second that it was a very stupid thing to do until he felt fingers petting through his hair. He smiled against his skin looking up to see the faint blush on Joe’s cheeks as he watched him.

“I probably should have asked first, before doing that, sorry.” 

“No, it’s nice actually. You’re really good to me.” 

“I try to be, I want you to be happy.”

“I am, really, I feel….Safe.” He spoke the word as if it was one, he wasn’t used to saying, a feeling that he wasn’t all too familiar with in his nineteen years of life. “Do you think we could kiss?” 

“Sure, I’d like that.” Campbell whispered, he leaned up pressing his lips against his in a gentle kiss. Joe held his hand squeezing as he kissed him back. 

It was a moment that made his heart flutter in his chest, he tried to remember if he’d really felt like this before when he’d kissed anybody else, but he hadn’t, he knew that he hadn’t. This was new for him, this felt right, righter than a lot of things did. He smiled against his lips, rested his free hand against the back of his neck keeping him close as the kiss deepened. 

“I like you a lot.” Joe whispered before kissing him again, teeth nipping against his bottom lip. 

Campbell brushed his fingers up into curly dark hair, he felt happy, really happy. “I like you too.” He kissed him once more before pulling away and getting to his feet. “Want to maybe go watch telly, could kiss more if you’d like.” He suggested, shy smile on his face as he held his hand out to his friend.

Joe smiled brightly up at him taking hold of his hand. He still didn’t know a lot about him or the life he’d lived before they’d met each other, but they had plenty of time for that. Campbell didn’t ever want to push him for more information than he was willing to give, he knew how damaging that could be from his own personal experiences. He was content to be curled up on the sofa with him, living a life that was for the most part normal and safe.


End file.
